Affecting nearly 6.8 million Americans, alopecia is an incurable autoimmune disease that causes hair loss.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 1 in 3 alopecia patients regrew their hair from a drug called baricitinib. Baricitinib, commonly used for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, works to disturb the signaling of cytokines, a protein responsible for inflammation.
“We think baricitinib works by interrupting the messaging between hair follicles and immune cells that lead to immune cells attacking hair follicles and ultimately hair loss,” Dr. Brett King, lead researcher on the study, told Medical News Today.
“When the messaging is interrupted, the immune cells leave hair follicles alone and the hair follicles can do what they are supposed to, that is, grow hair.”
The researchers used a Severity of Alopecia Tool to score each patient from 0 (no hair loss) to 100 (complete hair loss). Those with a score of 50 or higher were used in the research.
The study divided 654 alopecia patients into three groups. The first group received 4mg of baricitinib, the second received 2mg, and the third group received a placebo. By the end of 36 weeks, researchers found 38% of patients in group one, 22% in group two and 6% in group three had a SALT score less than 20. The study notes that longer trials should be held to further test the efficacy and safety of baricitinib to treat alopecia.
A round bald patch on the scalp or beard area (only for men) indicates the first early signs of alopecia, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Other signs may include hair growing in a bald spot but falling out in another area, hair loss triggered by colder temperatures, and itching or tingling in areas where hair loss will occur.
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